BENAZIRBRUTTO

Term
Jw effective were Pakistan's governments in the final decade of the
20th century?

Important questions
How successful were the policies of Benazir Bhutto, 1988-90:
Bhutto, 1988-90, 1993-96?
Conflict with Nawaz Sharif and
growth of
separatist movements
Difference with President Ishaq over judicial
appointment
Opposition 'no confidence' motion failure, but
damaging effects
Inflation and unemployment
Drug trafficking
Benazir Bhutto
-

Use offamily members in

government Eleventh Prime Minister of Pakistan
- Problems in Kashmir 2 December 1988- 6 August 1990
- Her dismissal 1 Year, 8 Months, 4 Days

Benazir Bhutto served as Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again
from 1993 to 1996. She was the first woman to head a democratic government in a
Muslim majority nation. ldeologically a liberal and a secularist, she chaired or co-
chaired the centre-left Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from the early 1980s until her
assassination in 2007
After the death of her father, Benazir and her mother Nusrat took control of the PPP and led the
country's Movement for the Restoration of Democracy: Benazir was repeatedly imprisoned by
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's military government and then exiled to Britain in 1984. She returned
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
in 1986 and transformed the PPP's platform from a socialist to a liberal one, before leading it to
Seventh President of Pakistan
victory in thee 1988 election. As Prime Minister, her attempts at reform were stifled by 17 August 1988 18 July 1993
conservative and Islamist forces, including President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and the
powerful miitary. Her administration was accused of corruption and nepotism, and
dismissed by Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990.
Who was Benazir Bhutto?

General elections were held in Pakistan on 16 November 1988. The Pakistan Peoples Party
PPP), led by Benazir Bhutto won the election in the centre with 94 seats of the National
PROMPT
Jamhoori Ittehad with 56 seats led by Nawaz Sharif. Pakistan People's
SSembly. Second largest party was Islami in Sindh and KPK provinces. IJI, which general olections
Party won the1988
with 94 seats in the
to achieve victories
provincial level, PPP only managed
At National Assembly. PPP also won election
was the second largest party in the centre managed to achieve victory in Punjab, the largestnt w powne t h and KPK
Ulema-e-Islam Second largest party was lslami Jamhoorn
of the This setback for the PPP. In Balochistan Jamiat IMtehad whilc 56 seats ol National
POVince country. was a
Khan Jamali) made a coalition to Assembly. The most victory of the Istarmi
raz-ur-Rehman) and Pakistan National Party (Mir Zafarullah Jamhoori tehad was that it won elaction in
Punjab province MOM became third
form the provincial
government. targestparty in the National Assembly with
largest party m Sindh
election results, acting President Ghulam Ishaq
Khan invited the PPP to form a 13
province and eecond
seats after PPP
gnt of the
90vernment.

BENAZIR BHUTTO

247
SUCCESSES AND FAILURE OF BENAZIR BHUTTO

of Benazir Bhutto was

ernment
that she formed her government in the.
the centre.
One of the successes enough seats to torm hergovernment. Moe
Although she had won the election but did not have Mostof
tavour of her government
officials were not in the Even
the leaders and important government
then she was successful to handle the situation in her favour and made an alliance with.the
which represented Muslims who had migrated fro from
Muhajir Quami Movement (MQM), a party of Benazir Bhutto and it we
it one of the opponent party won
India following partition. However, was
of Sindh and PPP in rest of the Sind
election in the urban areas e.g. Karachi and Hyderabad
This alliance gave her a majority and she became successful to form her government in tho
centre and took oath of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. It was a remarkable political success af
Benazir Bhutto and proof of her leadership skills. Aftera long period of military rule in which PPp
was suppressed and efforts were made by Zia to destroy the party, it was notan easy task to unite
and reorganise the party and reach to the victory stand. Most importantly as a result, she became
first woman to head a government of a Muslim nations, which was a great achievement for

Benazir Bhutto.
Another success of Benazir was that, she restored political freedom in the country. During the
However, she was committed to
militaryrule ban was imposed on different organisations.
introduce true democracy in the country. Therefore, right after coming into power she ended a ban
on trade and student unions, as well as was able to ensure the release of a number of political
prisoners detained under the Zia government. She also removed many of the constraints
imposed on non-governmental organisations. She also introduced measures to lift the media
censorship introduced by previous military administrations. Her actions were widely appreciated
in the country, as this allowed freedom of speech. Hence, it was an important success of Benazir.

Moreover, she introduced few reforms in the favour of the people of Sindh which had been the
stronghold of Pakistan Peoples Party since Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's time. The Sindhi culture is
different from the neighbouring regions and it is also practised by the Sindhi community.
Therefore, she promoted Sindhi culture through diferent ways such as made the study of
Sindhi compulsory in schools. She also reserved a number of posts in the administration
for Sindhis which increased job opportunities for them. As these reforms were in the best interest
of the Sindhis thus she became more popular among the Sindhi people.
Benazir foreign policy was even more successful than her domestic policies. During her first
premiership, Benazir went on a number of foreign trips, enhancing her image as the first female
Prime Minister in the Islamic world. In these she sought to attract foreign investment and aid for
Pakistan. She also made efforts to cultivate good relationships with the leaders of Islamic
countries who had also good relationships with her father, including Libya's Gaddafi, Abu Dhabis
Sheikh Zayed, and the Saudi royal family. Her trips were successful because as a result Pakistan
got some aid and image of Pakistan was also improved.

Benazir Bhutto also decided to join the Commonwealth and in 1989, she attended the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, where Pakistan was re
admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations. It was beneficial for the Pakistanis inhabiting UK. Its
membership provided good opportunities to improve the economy of Pakistan by using its
platform by geting aid from commonwealth organisations and boosting trade with the member
of commonwealth, Pakistan could get
countries. Being
member help to strengthen governance
build inclusive institutions and promote justice and human rights. Further, Pakistanis could get
training, technical assistance and even could use their exports and observers for impartial advice
and solutions to national problems. Hence, its membership had m

Benazir adopted the policy of no conflict with India. The fourth SAARC Conference Wa
scheduled in Pakistan in December 1988. As a result of her successful foreign policy. sil
ensured the of states of all member countries
the presence of
Minister Rajiv Gandhi. She
head including Indian
received Rajiv Gandhi warmly on the occasion of the summit
Primed
a
ensured Pakistan's support for India to control terrorism in Indian Punjab. As a result of
relations at the conference, Pakistan and India signed three peace
improv
agreements. It was a
THE HISTORY OF PAKISTAN

248
 tant Step to
important s promote peace and stability in the regions. So was an
important success of her.
Moreove in June 1989, she made an important visit to the
U.S.A,addressing both houses of
aress and gave the commencement speech at Harvard. She In 1985 the "Pressler Amendment, a s
Congre
met with President Bush and
imoortant government officials. The visit was a great success and did much to pased barred It
most euoneri an
other
remove asaistance to Paxisten unlens Bae
President
inderstanding
misur
between the countries and restored good relations.
As a result of this visit, she basis that a annual on

ICCessful to secure transter of already purchased US weapons of which Pakistan Pakislan had no nueear
weapons and was nGt developing tem
was

d had ended.
naid cost but under the Pressler Amendment USA had stopped their delivery. USA During thePresident
ignuredcriis.
Afghan George
Bun this
ven
HW iheBust
rule vrar
was
already
oromised to provide F-16 and other military equipment for which Pakistan had already paid. refused lo declare Pariutan was e s
free and blocked ad to tie
However, Benazir Bhutto faced number of problems during herrule between 1988 and 1990. caunUy a r a
stopped the salo of 23 F-18 fighter ets
which Pakistan had paid
One of the problems was that, her party did not have an overall majority in the National Assembly
to form her own government. She was forced to form an alliance with other parities such as MOM
and ANP. This made her government weak due to dispute over different issues between allied
forces. She was depended on other parities to rule the country and was unable to take important
decisions. She faced substantial opposition which contributed to Bhutto's inability to pass any
major legislation during her first term in office. Thus, she faced absolute problems to rule the
cOuntry and when allied forces left the PPP, her government also collapsed.

Another problem was that, although she held office but lacked the power she needed. The
president and establishment were stronger than the Prime Minister. She had to accept an
informal arrangement by which most important decisions were taken by a troika (a team of three)
of herself, the Chief of the Army Staff and the President. Following her election, there remained
significant mistrust between Bhutto and the right-wing military administration; many senior
miltary figures viewed her, like her father, as a threat to their dorminant role in Pakistan's political
arena. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan who had worked on important posts during Zia rule and was
one of the trustworthy official of Zia, had full support of army. Under these circumstances, she was
a weak ruler and it became difficult for her to implement her policies. As a result, she lost the Whatwas the Trolko?
popularity and government too.

In addition, people had very high expectation from Benazir Bhutto. During her campaign, she
made number of promises such as to improve the economy of the country and create jobs for the
people. In her first address to the nations, she promised to work for a progressive and democratic
Pakistan. However, many of the things that she had promised in her election campaign were not
delivered. She had claimed that a million new homes would be built each year and that universal
free education and healthcare would be introduced, none of which was economically feasible for
her government to deliver. Thus, the public's sense of disillusionment deepened as the
government failed to deliver its promised employment and rapid economic development. Inflation
and unemployment were high, and the rapid increase in the population meant more
unemployment and pressure on education and health system. The country also faced a growing
problem with the illegal narcotics trade, with Pakistan being one of the world's highest heroin
exporters. Although Benazir promised to take tough action on the powerful drug barons but her
government failed to deal with the country's growing drug abuse problem. Thus faced criticism
Doth inside and outside the country which badly damaged her reputation. Hence, the government
What problers did Ber a2r Shu a e ad
PrVme Ainister ef Pakustan
lostits massive support and collapsed.
Another cause of failure was Benazir Bhutto alliance with other parties broke away. The
greement between the PPP and MQM was short lived. Soon differences broke out. MQM
Sindhis in the administration. They believed
nCIZed Benazir policy to reserve more posts for the of urban areas of Sindh. These
was unfair with the Urdu speaking and more educated people
1988 few on motorbikes,
30 September gunmen
rence were turned into clashes when on
MQM claimed these gunmen were
nto a crowd in Hyderabad, causing 250 casualties.
the widespread riots in Hyderabad and
miltants and supporters of the PPP. This led her of not keeping promises
strong hold of MQM. They also broke with Benazir accusing
vulnerable. After the Pucca Qila
nad made to them. This made the PPP government
ha
mas were killed by police including
idn May 1990 Hyderabad, in which 40 supporters ofMQM
n d Children, which made the situation further tense and irrevocable. Few authorities
BENAZIR BHUTTO

249
 considered it an important failure of the government. Hence, such violence led to
the Prees
(Ghulam Ishaq Khan) dismissing her government in August 1990. President
what ees the Puoca Qilamassecre? (4) Conflict with Nawaz Sharif and growth of Separatist Movements were some
major reasons d
Benazir Bhutto failure. Many politicians in the provinces opposed her
government. The mocd
serious challenge came from Punjab which was the most powerful political
stronghold outside the
PPP, led by the IJI and the Punjab administration. Benazir Bhuto came into
confrontation with
Nawaz Sharif who was also Chief Minister of the Punjab, the most
important and populous
province of Pakistan. Benazir accused Nawaz of being 'separatist who wanted to weaken
the
wy dd Benaz Bhuto fal trom ofice in central government of Pakistan. Both the leaders used the powers they had to constantly provne
1990 each other. Nawaz Sharif criticised when a loyal and old leader of PPP, Mustafa
Khar was
appointed as Governor of the Punjab and Benazir opposed when Nawaz Sharif established the
Bank of Punjab in 1989. She called it 'treason
against federation'. Both Sharif and Bhuto
attempted to remove the other from power. Nawaz Sharif party brought a no confidence motionin
the National Assembly in October 1989 but it was defeated by 12 votes. They
got only 107 votes,
however, they needed 119 votes to force her to step down. Although the motion failed but
seriously damaged her government. This confrontation not only undermined her ability to govem
but also her chances of success, whichultimately led her government to collapse.
i 98 th modla (eported a ting Furthermore, her soft foreign policy on India also decided the failure of her government. She
oporation
codenamed and political
Mdnight Jackal, scandal,
in which a adopted the policy of 'no conflict with India' against the army. She not only received Rajiv Gandhi
plan was made by few politiclan and fomer
military leaders to lopple the Bhutto
the Indian Prime Minister warmly on the occasion of fourth SAARC Conference but also went out
government. lts objoctive was to pass a no0 of the way to help India in controlling rebellious situation in Indian Punjab by Sikhs. Morever, when
confidence motion In Parliament to remove
Benazir Bhutto. This operation was Rajiv Gandhi in her presence said that there existed no problem like Kashmir, she kept silent.
exposed by ISI when it obtained a VHS
tape containing the conversalion between en During Benazir first-term uprising in Indian occupied Kashmir broke out. India accused Pakistan
two few fomer amy officers. The plan wad
failed
of being behind the freedom fighters and refused to negotiate with Pakistan until Pakistan
stopped supporting the armed fighters in Kashmir. Therefore, Benazir Bhutto faced widespread
criticism in Pakistan. Such as religious parties blamed her to betray the nation and Nawaz Sharif
who took a strong anti-India position claiming that she was 'soft on India'. Her soft policy on India
was also hated by the army which further disempowered her.

She was also criticised by many for the alleged corruption of herhusband Asif Ali Zardariand PPP
leaders were suspected of being involved. She used her family members in the govenment. For
example, appointed her mother Nusrat Bhutto as a senior minister, followed by selection of her
father-in-law as chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee and most important
her husband Asif Ali Zaradari was involved in important financial matters. This was viewed in
some quarters as ill-advised nepotism. There were tales of corruption of her father-in-law and
especially AsifAli Zardari who was accused of taking rake-offs on government deals. This tainted
Was ho cetion th porant her own reputation and president Ghulam Ishaq Khan removed her government against the
reasonwty Benazir Bhuttofel rom utlice in
1900 Exptn your answer 141 charges ofnepotism and corruption.
Perhaps the most important reason was the conflict between the Prime Minister of Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto and the President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishag Khan who had the powers of Eighth
Amendment to dismiss Prime Minister and dissolve assemblies. Actually, differences broke out
between Prime Minister House and President House over the appointment of Judges of the
superior courts and chiefs of armed forces. She wanted to appoint her own leaders but Ishaq
Khan considered that such appointments were the right of the President. He refused to agree t

several appointments and dismissals she wanted to make in the military and courts. Benaz
Bhutto called it undemocratic and tried to convince opposition that this amendment should be pu

to an end. This created further tension between them and an atmosphere in which smoou
working of government was not possible. On that account, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan use
his constitutional powers and dismissed her government on
6August 1990. Benazir claimedue
hergovernment had been stolen from her.
Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi Following the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto, leader of an opposition coalition, Ghulam u r
Prime Minister of Pakislan Jatoi was appointed caretaker Prime Minister and new elections were announced in
Caretaker
6 Augusl 1990 to 6 November 1990 1990.

THE HISTORY OF PAKIsTAN

250
 Benazir's fall from office in 1990?
Why
did
[7
fall
Benazir's fall from office in 1990 was due to many reasons. One of lhe reasons was the strong
sition. Although, PPP
the 1988 election and
won
emerged largest party in the national
oembly but did not have enough seats to form its government alone. Therefore, Benazir had to
a a COalition government with the MQM. This meant that Benazir government was not strong
h Further, she came into confrontation with provincial governments especially as she had
i n a COalition with the MQM which was a party that represented Muslims who had migrated
towo
from India to Pakistan and settled in Sindh. This angered many PPP members in Sindh. Violent
nrolests throughout Pakistan led to the MQM leaving the coalition especially Pucca Qila
Massacre and joining with the opposition which meant that her majority was gone. Further
lence and deaths led to her dismissal because she and her government were blamed for the
violen

and order.
breakdown of law
Renazir's government was also dismissed due to corruption charges. Her husband Zardari was
numoured to be involved in corruption and accused of receiving money from government deals.
She was criticised by many for the alleged corruption of her husband Asif Ali Zardari and PPP
leaders were suspected of being involved. There had been anger that her husband had been
allowed to attend cabinet meetings despite not being a member of the government. He was also
accused of receiving kickbacks and his tales of corruption were common in the society. This
undermined the credibility of Bhutto and tainted her reputation. Although, her government
rejected all these allegations but the inference was that the government was tarred with
corruption. Hence, president dismissed her government.

Last, but not least, her government was dismissed because she was unable to establish good
working relations with the president, Ghulam Ishaq Khan. The main point of confict between
the wo was the appointment in judiciary and military. Benazir wanted to make some changes in
military and judiciary, however president refused to do so as he believed it was under his authority
under the 8th amendment to make such changes. This caused further tension between them and
led the president to feel that both houses could not work together. Therefore, in August 1990,
Khan dismissed Bhutto's government under the Eighth Amendment of the constitution. He
claimed that this was necessary due to her government's corruption and inability to maintain law

and order.
Benazir bitterly declared that her government had been stolen but a caretaker government under
the control of former PPP member and opposition leader Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi was sworn in,
in October 1990.
with Khan declaring a state ofnational emergency. New elections were called

BENAZIR BHUTTO

251